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The New Orleans City Council considers approval today for a Convention Center headquarters hotel.
It would be the first large scale hotel constructed in the city in 44 years.
"This became a strategic priority for us in response to customer feedback and competition from other cities."
Morial Convention Center President and CEO Jim Cook says they will gain scores of conventions with the new 1,000 room Omni Hotel, and they would lose many meetings without it.
"For well over a decade, our team here at the convention center has been working on a package."
Cook says reaction has been overall positive.
"We have had the City Planning Commission recommend favorable, a favorable outcome. We have had the Historic District Landmarks Commission recommend a favorable outcome. And we have had the Planning Advisory Committee as well."
He explained that they city only has to approve the zoning, and they are not asking for any tax breaks from the council. The project is seeking incentives from the state, but Cook insists even with a reduced tax burden for the new hotel, it will still generate millions of dollars in additional revenue.
Coincidentally, Cook was involved in the last large scale hotel construction on New Orleans.
"As the former GM at the Sheraton, I was working at the hotel that was the last large convention hotel that was built in the city. The Sheraton New Orleans opened in 1982."
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